Vista High School teacher Diego Moya was honored by the Thomas R. Brown Foundation and the University of Arizona Office of Economics Education as the “EconHero” for the month of December.
The recognition is for teachers who provide “excellent economic instruction to Arizona students,” according to a congratulatory email from the foundation’s Director of Education Programs, Megan Kirts.
Moya is in his fifth year at Vista High. He oversees the school’s Student Council and serves as the Communication Liaison in addition teaching economics.
Vista teacher Michele Garlit, who nominated Moya, said, "He is an energetic teacher that invites students to understand and learn about the world economy that they participate in as well as dive deep into the area of personal finance that will serve each student well when they leave high school."
Moya will receive a certificate of excellence and a $50 Amazon gift card for earning the monthly honor. He is the second teacher from Yuma Union High School District to win the award during the fall 2020 semester. Christine Bulinski from Yuma High School was the winner for the month of September.
According to their website, the Thomas R. Brown Foundation is inspired by the life of Thomas Brown, who founded the Burr-Brown Corporation and strove to “provide something of value to mankind.” It also states that Burr-Brown employed thousands of southern Arizonans in interesting jobs that paid high wages relative to many other jobs in the community. The workforce was diverse, and customers spanned the globe. There was an employee stock-sharing program that allowed employees to participate in ownership of the company, and many of them gained significantly when the company was sold. We would like to re-create opportunities like this for future Arizonans. Accordingly, we support education, training and responsible civics. A healthy community and healthy business environment depend on an educated citizenry and a well-functioning public sector. We have an unfailing commitment to doing this in a strictly nonpartisan manner based on data, rigorous analysis, and inclusiveness.
